GB2459575A - A meat-based snack food product and method of manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

A non-fried snack food product in the form of a wafer or crisp is prepared from a cooked emulsion of comminuted meat comprising one or more seasoning agents, vegetable oil and one or more emulsifying agents. The product may contain one or more nutritional additives including fibre, minerals and vitamins. The disclosed method of manufacture includes sequentially mixing comminuted meat with the one or more seasoning agents and with a vegetable oil-in-water emulsion, cooking the emulsion to a core temperature of at least 72°C, chilling, slicing, and further cooking using microwaves or radio-frequency waves. Still further cooking by contact conduction may then be performed. The seasoning agents may comprise salt and alkaline phosphates and polyphosphates. One or more water-binding stabilisers, preferably including carrageenan, and one or more water-binding agents, preferably including a starch, may be added.

Description

INTELLECTUAL

. .... PROPERTY OFFICE Application No. GB0907610.O RTM Date:25 August 2009 The following terms are registered trademarks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document: "Curaphos", "Beneo", "Urschel", "Nutrilac", "Tapiocaline" and "Stable Micro Systems".

Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.ipo.gov.uk A Novel Snack-Food Product [001] The present invention relates to a novel snack-food product and has particular reference to a non-fried meat-based snack-food product as well as to a method of making such a product.

[002] At the time of writing, the consumption of snack-food products is high in some countries, especially in the northern hemisphere. Potato-based snack food products are amongst the most popular. A typical fried potato crisp (also known, especially in the United States, as a potato "chip") has a fat content of about 25-30% wt. and a salt content of about 1-2% wt., typically 2-3% wt., giving rise to nutritional concerns, especially with respect to children, with whom snack-food products of this kind are popular.

[003] In the United Kingdom, the "National Diet and Nutrition Survey, Young People Aged 4 to 18 Years" (Gregory, et al., 2000) identified that children's diets were generally deficient in energy, calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin A., folic acid (in the case of girls) and fibre. Over the period 1995-2005, the proportion of children who were defined as "obese" rose from 11% to 18%. (The corresponding figures for adults were 17% to 23%.) [004] With nutritional considerations in mind, snack-food "crisp" products have been made from alternative root vegetables to potatoes, such, for example, as beetroot, parsnip and sweet potato. WO-A--95/002336, for example, discloses a method for the production of a vegetable crisp from carrot, turnip, swede, parsnip, celeriac, amba 1-laldi, sweet potato or beetroot.

[005] Baked, instead of fried, potato crisps have also been developed, having a fat content of less than about 25% wt., (see e.g., GB-A-2324952) but in general these have been found to be organoleptically inferior to fried crisps.

[0061 Pn object of the present invention is to provide a novel snack-food product having attractive organoleptic properties, similar to those of a fried potato crisp, but having a higher nutritional "value" as compared with such. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide such a snack-food product having a lower fat content and a lower salt content than traditional potato crisps, preferably lower than about l5& wt. fat and about l.5 wt. salt.

[007] Desirably, the snack-food product of the invention should comprise thin, wafer-shaped pieces and should have a crisp texture, which is similar to the texture of fried potato crisps.

[008] It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a snack-food product that is "ambient stable", meaning that it can be stored for extended periods of time without refrigeration.

[009J According to the present invention therefore there is provided a non-fried snack-food product comprising a cooked wafer, said wafer comprising a cooked meat emulsion of comminuted meat, functional ingredients, said functional ingredients including one or more seasoning agents, vegetable oil and one or more emulsifying agents and having a water activity of less than about 0.50 aw. and a fat content of less than about l5 wt.

[0010] Preferably the snack-food product of the invention has a water activity of less than about 0.45 aw. Typically, the snack-food product has a water activity of more than about 0.10 aw, and suitably the water activity of the snack-food product of the invention falls in the range of about 0.20 or 0.25 aw to about 0.40 or 0.45 aw. Having such a low water activity ensures that the snack-food product of the invention has a crisp texture and is stable under ambient conditions and does not require refrigeration, the low water content of the product inhibiting the growth of bacteria, yeast and moulds.

[0011] Further, the snack-food product of the invention preferably has a hardness of at least 300 g (force), typically in the range 300-600 g (force). The snack-food product of the invention may have a "work to break the product" of at least 300 g (force) .seconds, typically in the range 300-600 g (force) .seconds.

[00121 The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing such a non-fried snack-food product which comprises sequentially mixing comminuted meat with (i) one or more seasoning agents and (ii) a vegetable oil-in-water emulsion comprising one or more emulsifying agents to form an uncooked meat emulsion; filling said emulsion into a casing; cooking said emulsion within the casing to a core temperature of at least 72° C.; chilling the cooked emulsion and thereafter removing the casing and slicing the cooked mixture into individual pieces; and further cooking said individual pieces by microwave or radio-frequency cooking to achieve a water activity of less than about 0.50 aw.

[0013] In some embodiments, the individual pieces may be further cooked by contact conduction cooking after microwave or radio-frequency cooking.

[0014] The meat emulsion of the present invention may comprise about 40-70 wt. meat, typically about 45-55% wt. or 50-55% wt., prior to cooking. Any suitable type of meat (e.g., pork, turkey, chicken or beef) may be used which may be comminuted by any suitable means known to those skilled in the art (e.g., mincing or flaking) to form small pieces of meat having a large surface area to aid myosin extraction, as described in more detail below. Suitably, said meat may be comminuted to form pieces having a size of less than about 5- 6 mm. Preferably, said meat is from a lean source, typically having less than about 10% wt. of fat, and preferably less than about 5% wt. fat.

[0015] The comminuted meat is firstly mixed mechanically with one or more seasoning agents to promote extraction of myofibril protein from the meat. Suitable seasoning agents are well known to those skilled in the art and comprise, for example, salt and alkaline phosphates. Suitable alkaline phosphates include sodium and potassium di-, tn-and poly-phosphates. If desired, up to about 0.75% wt., and preferably no more than about 0.65% wt., salt may be added at this stage to assist in myosin protein extraction. An addition of 0.65% wt. salt would lead to a salt content in the final emulsion of the invention in the range of about 0.35%-0.60% wt.

[0016J Typically the emulsion may comprise up to 0.50% wt. of such seasoning phosphates, typically about 0.25-0.35% wt., e.g., about 0.30% wt.

[0017] Advantageously, such phosphates may also act to chelate any lipid pro-oxidant contaminates such as free iron, thereby helping to reduce lipid oxidation during the shelf-life of the finished product. If desired, additional antioxidants may be added to the comminuted meat with the seasoning agents; for example natural antioxidants such as rosemary extract or other known antioxidants such as sodium ascorbate, alpha-tocopherol, ascorbyl palmitate and citric acid. A typical addition of antioxidant at this stage would be up to 0.10% wt.

or 0.20% wt., preferably about 0.04-0.05% wt.

[0018] In some embodiments, one or more water-binding stabilisers may also be added to the comminuted meat at this stage to assist water binding within the mixture. Suitable stabilisers include gums and hydrocolloids such, for example, as xanthan gum, exudate gums, vegetable fibres, cellulose derivatives, gellan gum, Konjac flour, bovine/porcine gelatin, agar, sodium alginate (in combination with a suitable soluble calcium source) and carrageenans, such as x-carrageenan, i-carrageerlan and A-carrageenan. It has been found that for effective water-binding and gel formation, the use of a K-carrageenan in the presence of a sodium salt is preferred for ease of use and gel strength. x-Carrageenan also functions as a slicing aid. In some embodiments therefore the uncooked meat emulsion may comprise about 0.50-1.00% wt. carrageenan, e.g., about 0.70% wt.

[0019] One or more additional flavourings such, for example, as liquid smoke may be added to the comininuted meat with the seasoning agent(s), together with water and optionally a suitable meat stock. Typically up to about 7.50% wt. water may be added [0020] In some embodiments, one or more non-meat proteins such as egg albumin, whey protein concentrates/isolates, wheat proteins, sodium caseinate and skimmed milk powder may also be added to the comminuted meat with the seasoning agents, and one or more carbohydrates may be included for their water-binding capabilities, although this may be less preferred (but not excluded) since, in this initial stage, such binding agents might compete with the seasoning agent(s) for free-water, thus potentially impairing the ability of such seasoning agents to extract myosin from the meat. Advantageously, therefore, in this first step, the one or more seasoning agents are added to the comminuted meat in the absence of other non-meat proteins and starch-based binders.

[0021] After mixing with the one or more seasoning agents to extract myosin from the muscle tissue, the comminuted meat is then mixed with a stabilised oil-in-water emulsion in order to improve the texture and nutritional profile of the snack-food product, especially having regard to the preferred use of meat from a lean source. Without the addition of oil, the snack-food product might otherwise attain a hard, brittle texture rather than the desired crisp texture.

[0022] Said oil-in-water emulsion comprises a suitable emulsifying agent which is pre-hydrated with the continuous aqueous phase before addition of the oil. In some embodiments, said oil may be slowly added to the pre-hydrated emulsifying agent after high shear mixing of the continuous phase. Suitable emulsifying agents comprise non-meat proteins such as sodium caseinate, whey protein, soy proteins, egg proteins, cellulose derivatives, exudate gums, xanthan gum, lipophilic modified starches, native starches, bovine/porcine gelatin, carrageenan, locust bean gum and blood plasma. Suitably, up to about S or 6%wt. of emulsifying agent, e.g., milk protein, may be included in the oil-in-water emulsion, based upon the total composition of the uncooked meat emulsion.

[0023] A preferred emulsifying agent is whey protein. In some embodiments, one or more whey protein concentrates may be included in the oil-in-water emulsion.

[0024] Suitably, the vegetable oil is sunflower oil or safflower oil in view of their high polyunsaturated contents.

Sunflower oil, for example, typically comprises about 69% wt.

polyunsaturates, about 20% wt. mono-unsaturates and about 11% wt. saturated fats. Typically, the meat emulsion may comprise up to 11 or 13% wt. water and up to 4 or 5% wt. oil.

[0025] The oil-in-water emulsion is mixed thoroughly with the comminuted meat, such that the oil is distributed homogenously or substantially homogenously throughout the meat emulsion.

[0026] In accordance with the present invention, the oil-in-water emulsion remains stable owing to the presence of the emulsifying agent(s) during the initial cooking step in which the meat emulsion is cooked within the casing to the core temperature of the 72° C. Upon slicing and further cooking by microwave or radiofrequency cooking, and especially upon contact conduction cooking, however, the fats in the emulsion become destabilised to baste the sliced meat. To this end, the oil component of the oil-in-water emulsion, which is distributed uniformly in the meat emulsion, assists in the crisping process, thereby avoiding deep fat frying to create crispness and reduce the water activity of the snack-food product, which is less preferred from a nutritional point of view.

[0027] Following mixing with the oil-in-water emulsion, the meat emulsion may optionally be mixed with one or more water-binding agents or nutritional additives.

[0028] As water-binding agents, high amylose starches are especially preferred such, for example, as starches derived from tapioca, rice, wheat, potato, modified waxy maize or maize.

Amylose is capable of forming a firm gel by heat treatment beyond its gelation temperature and also provides good film- forming properties. It has been found that a partially pre-gelatinised, native tapioca starch offers fat mimetic properties by virtue of its ability to absorb cold water to 4x its own weight (lOx its own weight when cooked) whilst maintaining its granular structure. The use of such a tapioca starch in the snack-food product of the present invention affords a degree of perceived fatty "mouth-feel".

[00291 The use of a potato starch such, for example, as potato flake aids film-formation and crispness of the snack-food product of the invention following high-temperature cooking. In some embodiments, up to 15% wt. amylose starch may be incorporated in the meat emulsion of the invention prior to cooking.

[0030) As nutritional additives, one or more of fibres (e.g., chicory inulin), minerals (e.g., dairy calcium phosphates) and vitamins (e.g., vitamins A, D and E, etc.) may be added. By way of example, in this third mixing step, the meat emulsion may be tumbled with up to 5 or 6% wt. inulin.

[00311 Following the three above-described sequential mixing steps, the meat emulsion is stuffed into a suitable casing for initial cooking. Suitably, the emulsion may be extruded into an elongate casing to form a "log". The diameter of the log should correspond to the desired final dimensions of the wafer of the snack-food product. For instance, a diameter of about 60-70 mm, e.g., about 65 mm, is suitable.

[0032] Prior to cooking, therefore, the meat emulsion of the invention may have the following general composition: %wt. %wt.

Comminuted meat 40-70 Binder Binding agent(s) 0-15 Seasoning blend Nutritional 0-10 additive (s) Salt 0.25-0.65 Sub-total 0-20 Flavourings 0-5 Phosphate(s) 0.2-0.5 Total Binding agent(s) 0-1 Water 2-10 Sub-total 55-75 Pre-emulsion Vegetable oil 2.5-7.5 Emulsifying agent(s) 2.5-7.5 Water 11-13 Sub-total 7.5-20 [0033] The meat emulsion is then cooked inside its casing at a temperature in the range 70-80° C., typically about 78° C., to achieve a core temperature of at least 72° C. This first cooking step, which may be carried out by steam cooking, has the effect of reducing the bacterial count within the meat and results in coagulation and denaturation of the extracted meat proteins and any non-meat proteins added to the emulsion to form a binding gel between the meat pieces. The presence of water-binding stabilisers such as x-carrageenan assists in the formation of a firm gel within the cooked-chilled meat product to aid slicing yields.

-10 - [0034] It will be appreciated that during the course of cooking, the dimensions of the reformed meat body will shrink to an extent, producing a final diameter in the range of about mm to about 60 mm, typically 45-55 mm, e.g., 48-53 mm.

[0035] It will also be appreciated that as a result of cooking during this first cooking step as well as the subsequent cooking step(s), the composition of the meat product will change somewhat, both chemically and compositionally. As the chemical reactions that food ingredients undergo during the course of cooking can be complex, it is difficult to be precise as to the particular final composition of the cooked snack-food product or the relative proportions of the ingredients in such product, except, as mentioned above, the final snack-food product should have the salt content of less than about 1.5% wt. and a fat content of less than about 15% wt., and in some embodiments less than 10% wt. Evidently, any process steps which would result in a higher fat content, e.g., frying or deep-fat frying, should be avoided; and in this sense the invention provides a non-fried product.

[00361 The cooked meat emulsion is then chilled (e.g., by blast chilling) to a core temperature of -2-+2° C. [0037] The casing is then stripped from the cooked emulsion, and the reformed body of meat is sliced to a thickness in the range 1-3 mm, preferably 1-2 mm, and typically about 1.3-1.5 mm to form wafers.

[00381 At this stage, the wafers have a solids content (physical insoluble and soluble solids) of about 42-46% wt. The wafers are then further cooked using microwave or radiofrequency cooking which significantly reduces the water activity of the product. By slicing the meat emulsion prior to microwave or radiofrequency cooking, wafers having a large surface area are -11 -formed from which additional moisture can evaporate at temperatures in excess of 1000 C. Such cooking enables a further cook loss in the range of about 40-55% wt.

(0039] In some embodiments, a sufficiently low water activity may be obtained by microwave/radiofrequency cooking alone, but desirably after such cooking, the wafers may be cooked still further by contact grilling at high temperatures (typically in the range 180-220° C.) which may result in an additional cook loss of about 5-20% wt. In general, a total cook loss of at least 50% wt., and in some embodiments more than 60% wt., may suitably be achieved. As described above, at such temperatures, the fats in the meat emulsion become at least partially destabilised such that they baste the sliced meat. Through a Maillard reaction with the meat sugars/amino acids and reducing sugars present in the product, the surface of the wafers may brown, and there may also be some caramelisation, giving the snack-food product of the invention an attractive appearance.

[0040] Furthermore, as described above, at the high temperatures of contact grilling, the amylose content of any starch-based binding agents present may form a film and afford a crisp texture.

[00411 Finally, once the desired water activity content has been attained, the wafers of the invention may optionally be dry seasoned and then packaged. Suitably, the wafers may be packaged in a modified atmosphere format comprising a gas ratio of 70% nitrogen: 30% carbon dioxide to inhibit lipid oxidation, bacterial growth and rancidity.

[0042] As mentioned above, the physical and chemical properties of the meat emulsion will change during the course of the successive cooking steps, but the final snack-food product of the invention should have a salt content of less than about -12 - 1.5% wt. and a fat content of less than about 15% wt., as described above.

[00431 Further, the cooked snack-food product of the invention may desirably have a protein content of at least 40% wt. , suitably 40-55% wt.

[00441 The snack-food product of the invention may also have a carbohydrate content of less than about 40% wt., suitably 30-40% wt.

[00451 The sugar content of the snack-food product of the invention may be in the range 0.5-2.5% wt., e.g., 0.8-2.1% wt.

[0046] Further, the snack-food product of the invention may have a fibre content in the range 7.5-15% wt., e.g., 8-12% wt.

[0047] Following the cook loss, the snack-food product of the invention may have a percent meat content in the range 140-190% wt., based upon the original weight of the uncooked meat emulsion.

[00481 Following is a description by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings of embodiments of the present invention.

[0049] In the drawings: [00501 FIG. 1 shows schematically a method for manufacturing the meat-based, non-fried snack-food product of the present invention.

[00511 FIG. 2 is an example curve obtained in Example 6 below.

-13 - [0052] FIG. 3 is a histogram showing the hardness of four different snack-food products according to the invention and, by way of comparison, four branded fried crisp products.

[0053] FIG. 4 is a histogram of the "work to break the product" of the four different snack-food products mentioned above and the four branded fried crisp products for comparison.

Example 1: Pork Ham Crisps [0054] Pork ham crisps according to one example of the present invention have the following ingredients (uncooked meat emulsion) wt. %wt.

Pork leg mince 5 mm 55.00 Pre-ernulsion Sunflower oil 4.00 Seasoning blend SP7089 milk protein 1.00 Curing salt 0.56 Water 11.00 Flavourings 0.64 HA7570 milk protein 4.00 Curaphos1M 801 (sodium 0.35 Sub-total 20.00 diphosphate) Liquid smoke 0.02 Carrageenan GPI 279 0.70 Binder NatureguardTM B 0.05 Modified potato starch 5.00 Sodium ascorbate 0.04 Potato flake 5.00 Water 5.64 Beneo GR (inulin) 4.10 Sub-total 63.00 Dairy calcium 0.90 phosphate Modified waxy maize 2.00 starch Sub-total 17.00 Total 100.00 -14 - [00551 With reference to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, pork leg mince at a temperature of 0-4° C., or tempered frozen meat at a temperature of -2-+4° C., is minced to a dimension of about 5 mm or flaked in a 180/240 Urschel cage to form comminuted meat.

[0056] The comminuted pork is then mixed with the above-listed seasoning blend.

[0057] The pre-emulsion mixture is formed by admixing the two kinds of milk protein to water to pre-hydrate the milk proteins.

Thereafter, the sunflower oil is added with shearing to form a paste-like fluid, which is then admixed to the mixture of comminuted pork and seasoning blend. Milk protein NutrilacTM SP7089 has the ability to make a stable emulsion of 1 part milk protein, 10 parts water and 10 parts fat. The milk protein Nutrilac1M HA7570 can part-emulsify at 1 part milk protein, 4 parts water, 4 parts fat and can form a gel at 1 part milk protein, 10 parts water on denaturation.

[00581 Finally, the pork mixture is tumbled with the binder ingredients listed above.

[0059] The uncooked meat emulsion is then discharged from the mixer and filled into suitable lengths of permeable or impermeable casings having a diameter of about Fig. 65 mm and steam cooked at about 78°C. to attain a meat core temperature of +72° C. Cooking takes approximately 3 1/2 hours.

[0060] After cooking, the cooked meat mixture is blast chilled for about 5-5 1/2 hours to a core temperature in the range -2 to +20 C. [0061] Thereafter, the casing is stripped from the cooked-chilled pork meat product, which is sliced to a thickness of approximately 1.4 mm.

-15 - [00621 The slices of cooked-chilled pork meat product are then cooked continuously using a microwave or radio-frequency oven to achieve a cook loss in the range 40-55% wt. The slices are then transferred to a continuous contact belt grill oven to develop the crispness and colour of the cooked slices and to achieve a further cook loss of about 5-20% wt.

[00631 The cooked wafers are then removed from the grill oven and, if desired, dry season coated. They are then packed in a modified atmosphere packaging of 70% nitrogen: 30% carbon dioxide.

[0064] The resulting pork ham crisps were found to have the following composition (values per 100 g): Uncooked Cooked emulsion product KCals 167 417 KJoules 706 1761 Protein /g 18.5 50.6 Carbohydrates /g 14.2 31.0 Of which sugars /g 1.2 2.1 Fats /g 4.1 10.1 Sodium /g 0.23 0.57 Fibre /g 4.5 11.8 Salt /9 0.6 1.46 Water activity 0.969 0.351 Total weight loss 62% % Meat content 188% Example 2: Beef Crisps [0065] Beef crisps according to another example of the present invention are manufactured by the method described in -16 -Example 1 above, using the following ingredients (uncooked emulsion) wt. %wt.

Beef fl/4 mince 5 mm 50.00 Pre-emulsion Sunflower oil 4.00 Seasoning blend SP7089 milk protein 1.00 Salt 0.30 Water 11.00 Flavourings 1.52 HA7570 milk protein 4.00 CuraphosTM 801 (sodium 0.30 Sub-total 20.00 diphosphate) Liquid smoke 0.02 Carrageenan GPI 279 0.70 Binder NatureguardTM B 0.05 TapiocalineTM 10.00 Water 7.11 Dairy calcium 0.90 phosphate Sub-total 60.00 Potato flake 4.00 Beneo GR (inulin) 5.10 Sub-total 20.00 Total 100.00 [0066] The resulting beef crisps were found to have the following composition (values per 100 g): Uncooked Cooked emulsion product KCals 161 399 KJoules 680 1687 Protein /g 17.0 43.6 Carbohydrates /g 15.8 38.0 Of which sugars /g 0.5 0.8 Fats /g 3.3 8.1 -17 -Uncooked Cooked emulsion product Sodium /g 0.24 0.56 Fibre /g 3.4 8.5 Salt /g 0.6 1.4 Water activity 0.974 0.256 Total weight loss 6O Meat content 161%- -18 -Example 3: Turkey Crisps [0067) Turkey crisps according to yet another example of the present invention are manufactured by the method described in Example 1 above, using the following ingredients (uncooked meat emulsion) %wt. wt.

Turkey breast mince 55.00 Pre-eTnulsion 5mm Sunflower oil 4.00 Seasoning blend 5P7089 milk protein 1.00 Salt 0.36 Water 11.00 Flavourings 2.27 HA7570 milk protein 4.00 Curaphos 801 (sodium 0.30 Sub-total 20.00 diphosphate) Liquid smoke 0.02 Carrageenan GPI 279 0.70 Binder NatureguardTM B 0.05 Modified potato 8.00 starch Water 3.30 TapiocalineTM 5.00 Sub-total 62.00 Dairy calcium 0.90 phosphate Beneo GR (inuliri) 4.10 Sub-total 18.00 Total 100.00 -19 - [0068] The resulting turkey crisps were found to have the following composition (values per 100 g): Uncooked Cooked emulsion product KCals 166 386 KJoules 699 1630 Protein /g 18.7 42.0 Carbohydrates /g 14.6 36.0 Of which sugars /g 0.8 1.6 Fats /g 3.6 8.2 Sodium /g 0.22 0.52 Fibre /g 3.4 8.4 Salt /g 0.6 1.3 Water activity 0.972 0.401 Total weight loss 58 Meat content 14l Example 4: Chicken Crisps [00693 Chicken crisps according to yet another example of the present invention are manufactured by the method described in Example 1 above, using the following ingredients (uncooked meat emulsion) 6wt. wt.

Chicken breast mince 55.00 Pre-emulsion 5mm Sunflower oil 4.00 Seasoning blend SP7089 milk protein 1.00 Salt 0.36 Water 11.00 Flavourings 2.23 HA7570 milk protein 4.00 Curaphos'TM 801 (sodium 0.30 Sub-total 20.00 -20 -96wt. %wt.

diphosphate) Liquid smoke 0.02 Carrageenan GPI 279 0.70 Binder NatureguardTM B 0.05 TapiocalineTM 5.00 Chicken stock 1.00 Potato flake 7.00 Water 3.34 Beneo GR (inulin) 4.10 Sub-total 63.00 Dairy calcium 0.90 phosphate Sub-total 17.00 Total 100.00 [0070] The resulting chicken crisps were found to have the following composition (values per 100 g): Uncooked Cooked emulsion product KCals 174 381 KJoules 737 1609 Protein /g 19.5 41.8 Carbohydrates /g 14.9 33.9 Of which sugars /g 0.8 1.2 Fats /g 4.1 8.7 Sodium /g 0.22 0.48 Fibre /g 4.2 9.3 Salt /g 0.6 1.2 Water activity 0.968 0.362 Total weight loss 54 & Meat content 143% -21 -Example 5: Texture Analysis of Crisps [00711 The textures of four samples of different kinds of crisps in accordance with the present invention, which were produced in accordance with Examples 1-4 above respectively, and, for comparison, four samples of different varieties of branded potato crisps, including three fried products (branded products A, C and D) and one baked product (branded product B), were analysed using a Stable Micro System TA-XT Plus Texture Analyser (Stable Micro System, Godalming, Surrey, UK). The load cell capacity was 5kg and the probe used was a sphere of 25mm diameter. The settings of the measure were as follows: mode: measure force in compression pre-test speed: 1.0 mm/s test speed: 1.0 mm/s post-test: 10.0 mm/s distance: 5mm trigger type: Auto -5g data acquisition rate: 500ppS [0072] To ensure the reproducibility of the results, the samples were selected with most uniformity in terms of size and shape, and the measures were repeated 24 times per sample (when possible) [00731 An example of the curve obtained is shown in FIG.2 of the accompanying drawings. The parameters analysed were the highest force, which expresses the hardness of the crisps, and the area under the curve, which gives the work required to break the crisps.

-22 - [0074] Table 1 below gives the number of replicates of each test, and the average and standard deviation of the hardness and of the work to break the crisps for each sample.

Table 1

Hardness /g Work to Break the Product /g.sec Example Number of Average SD Average SD Replicates 1 22 302.03 49.65 369.23 100.18 2 22 411.93 51.89 631.86 150.50 3 22 362.98 61.81 308.14 75.24 4 22 337.50 61.62 437.86 127.66 A 22 575.50 132.14 566.09 148.32 B 22 489.00 56.15 261.73 104.06 C 22 229.38 65.44 326.77 129.74 D 22 505.36 102.33 603.27 215.23 [0075] Since one or two curves per sample were clearly different from the others, the two furthest values were removed and not taken into account for the calculation of the average and the standard deviation. Therefore, in this table is indicated the number of replicates actually used in the analysis.

[0076] The results set forth in Table 1 are illustrated graphically in FIGS. 3 and 4. Statistical analysis of the data (t-test, a=0.05) leads to the following conclusions: Comparison between the meat crisps and potato crisps [0077] Crisps according to the invention made from beef and turkey have similar hardness, also comparable with the hardness -23 -of potato crisps from branded fried potato crisp products A and D. These four types of product belong to one population.

[0078] Crisps according to the invention made from chicken and pork have similar hardness, lower than for beef or turkey crisps, but higher than for branded fried potato crisps C. [0079] Consequently, all the samples of the crisps of the invention were found to have a hardness within the same range as a variety of branded potato crisps.

[0080] Regarding the work required to break the product, the crisps of the invention made from chicken and turkey were found to require the same work. This work is also comparable with the work required to break the fried potato crisps of branded products A and D. These four types of product belong to one population.

[0081] Crisps according to the invention made from beef and pork require similar work, lower than the work required to break chicken or turkey crisps, but higher than the work required for baked potato crisps of branded product B or fried potato crisps of branded product C. [0082] Consequently, for all the samples of meat crisps in accordance with the invention, the work required to break the product was within the same range as a variety of branded potato crisps.